A year later, he's still homeless

Mark West repairs broken computers and electronics in the hopes of making extra cash. All of his belongings are either in this storage unit or his truck. ANA VENEGAS, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Mark West is disheartened that he's still homeless nearly a year after being evicted from his Orange apartment. He lives out of his truck. Finding a place to park and sleep at night is a challenge. ANA VENEGAS, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Visibly forlorn and disheartened, Mark West is still without a home almost a year after he was evicted from his Orange apartment. He recycles for extra cash and visits local food pantries for meals. ANA VENEGAS, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Mark West was given this broken computer at a recycling center. He says he taught himself to repair broken computers. ANA VENEGAS, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

Mark West repairs broken computers and electronics in the hopes of making extra cash. All of his belongings are either in this storage unit or his truck. ANA VENEGAS, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

A year ago this month, when Carol and Mark West were on the brink of being evicted from their Orange apartment, Mark's biggest fear was winding up on the streets with no place to call home.

Every worst-case scenario flashed through his mind. He thought back to the days when he worked in construction as a plasterer. Every morning his first task was to chase out the homeless men who would seek refuge in the vacant buildings that were under construction.

"That's why I tried so hard to save that apartment. I was in total fear that, at 45, I was going to be homeless," says Mark, who was laid off from his job as a maintenance worker last year as was Carol, who was working as a customer service representative.

But the formerly middle class couple, jobless and with little money to their name, had no choice. They were evicted last December for repeatedly failing to make the rent, put their belongings in storage, and headed to a motel.

"Carol said 'We'll make it,' and I said 'I'm going to trust and believe,'... and I'm going to give myself one year," says Mark.

But today, as that one year mark approaches, Mark, now 46, is not where he had hoped to be. The couple separated this summer – the stress and tension too much for their fragile marriage.

Yet while Carol applied for and was accepted into a women's transitional shelter in August, then landed a job in September as a receptionist, Mark's life has spiraled, getting worse with each passing day.

Last week, his truck's gas gauge was approaching empty and his only hope was an $800 unemployment check he thought was in the mail. This week, he discovered the unemployment office hadn't received the forms he was supposed to mail.

After recycling cans and bottles to put gas in his tank, all he was left with was a bag of change.

"For the most part I think Carol made the right decision. I have to say that because look at where I'm at now," says Mark, who sleeps in his truck at night.

If you add up those best efforts it equals this: Mark has no job prospects and no applications in the pipeline for shelters. He has bills for his storage unit and his cell phone due on Jan. 1 and zero saved to make those payments.

Register readers have written and called me, frustrated with Mark. They've offered him jobs, he hasn't called some of them back. In October he made an appointment to interview for the Self Help Interfaith Program, a 30-day shelter program based in Midway City that helps the homeless find employment. But he failed to show up and called to cancel the appointment after the fact (he couldn't remember why).

He told me he went to the Salvation Army in Santa Ana to check out their work search program, which provides shelter and gives residents up to six weeks to find a job. But when the staff checked their logs his name was nowhere on the emergency shelter bed list, nor had he inquired about the work search program.

Aside from a few day labor jobs he says he's worked, he's primarily relied on selling belongings, like his bed, as well as the laptops and bicycles he scavenges from dumpsters and repairs.

With today's historic unemployment rates, landing a job can seem near impossible. Jean Watkins, director of social services for the Salvation Army in Orange County, says only about 30 percent of their work search program participants find jobs within the six week deadline.

That grueling process of being rejected from job after job can be a blow to a person's self-esteem. In Mark's case, the last job he applied to shortly before Thanksgiving was as a sales clerk at Home Depot. He says there were 30 applicants, but he only made it to the second round of interviews, and wasn't called back after that.

What Mark needs, says Watkins, is someone to guide him through the job search process, coach him and believe in him.

"I think what happens is that people lose hope and that's hard, but it also seems they get to the point where they get tired of being homeless," says Watkins, explaining that this can be a motivating factor.

"There's always hope. Sometimes something like not having any money to count on, even if it's a little bit of money, brings you to the point where you try harder."

Without permanent housing, Mark has been thwarted from truly moving forward. No shower? He shows up for meetings unshaven. Frigid nights? He wakes up feeling like a Popsicle and doesn't sleep well. And 4 a.m. recycling runs means he sleeps through the morning.

In many ways, Mark has hit his lowest point. He admits he's depressed and even considered suicide, but couldn't go through with it. So, with the holidays and the one-year anniversary of his homelessness approaching, he's come to the conclusion that there's one thing he needs most: direction.

"I can't see myself standing on the side of the freeway begging for money. I will not do that. Never. I don't want money now, that's just a Band-Aid for me. That's not going to solve anything," says Mark.

He's right.

The recession may have thrown him off course from working man to homeless man, but now the questions are these: Will he take the steps to avoid falling any further? Or is he destined to become like the men he once chased from the construction sites?

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